Backers of medical marijuana protest state rule to control home growing of pot

BOSTON — Advocates of medical marijuana protested in downtown Boston on Thursday, saying that a tough state regulation could hurt access for patients who are allowed to grow their own pot.

Under regulations approved by the state Department of Public Health, a patient with a hardship permit to cultivate marijuana can designate only a single caregiver to grow the drug on behalf of the patient.

Anna Coletti, left, and Brett Cogill, right, wave signs to protest a state regulation that seeks to limit home cultivation of medical marijuana.Dan Ring/The Republican

Brett Cogill, publisher of Greenleaf magazine in Cohasset, said it would be more economical for patients to grow marijuana than to purchase it from a dispensary. He said a caregiver should be allowed to grow for 15 to 20 patients.

"One patient is kind of ridiculous," said Cogill, 43, who was among about a dozen protesters who held signs and sometimes chanted on Washington Street outside the offices of the state Department of Public Health.

The public health department approved the regulation to curb illegal distribution of medical marijuana.

"These regulations limit caregivers to one patient to prevent the unlawful diversion of marijuana, upholding Massachusetts voter intent that safe and appropriate access be allowed for those most in need," said David Kibbe, communications director for the department.

A home cultivation permit can be obtained by someone with a financial hardship, a physical incapacity to use transportation to drive to a dispensary or a lack of a dispensary within a reasonable distance or a lack of one that can deliver.

Of the 20 states, plus the District of Columbia, with legal medical marijuana, Massachusetts is among 15 that allow some kind of home cultivation, according to the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington.

Of those 15, a total of six, including Massachusetts and Vermont, limit caregivers to growing marijuana for only one patient.

In New Mexico, caregivers cannot grow at all. Only patients and non-profit dispensaries can grow in New Mexico.

Connecticut's 2012 law bans home cultivation, according to the policy project. New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Delaware also are among jurisdictions that do not allow home growing of marijuana.

Maine and Rhode Island allow caregivers to grow for up to five patients, according to the project.

Massachusetts approved regulations partly designed to avoid some pitfalls in states such as California and Colorado, which are noted for having loose regulations for medical marijuana. The drug remains illegal under federal law.

Kibbe said the state regulations "appropriately balance and respect patient needs, while ensuring safe communities."

Advocates focused on the regulation that limits a care giver to growing for only one patient with a hardship permit. They said the regulation is designed to funnel business to nonprofit dispensaries, which must pay some high state fees to finance oversight of the pending medical-marijuana program.

"It's unfair," said Anna Coletti, 33, a hair stylist from Pawtucket, R.I. "It's not right. They are taking rights away from patients and making them go to the stores."

Michael Crawford, 42, of Cambridge, former president of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, said a caregiver should be able to grow marijuana for at least five or six patients.

"Patients need access," he said.

In November of last year, 63 percent of voters in Massachusetts approved a ballot law for medical marijuana. In May, the state Public Health Council approved regulations to put the law into effect.

Patients can register with the state for medical marijuana with a recommendation from a physician.

Patients without hardship exemptions can designate as many as two personal caregivers to obtain medical marijuana. Caregivers, who could be personal care attendants, home health aides, or hospice workers, for example — also have to register.

The law allows up to 35 nonprofit dispensaries to operate around the state, including at least one and not more than five in each county. The state still is in the process of approving an application process for possible dispensary owners.

According to the law, people with certain “debilitating medical conditions,” including cancer, glaucoma, the virus that causes AIDS or “other conditions” determined by a doctor, can obtain a registration card and possess up to a 60-day supply of marijuana, or as many as 10 ounces.